San Jose 5, Atlanta 2

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Vincent Damphousse scored the go-ahead goal and Evgeni Nabokov made 14 saves Thursday night as the San Jose Sharks won their third straight game, 5-2 over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Damphousse scored his seventh goal of the season just 24 seconds after the Thrashers tied the game, 2-2, midway through the second period. He took a pass from Marco Sturm and threw a slap shot from the right faceoff circle past the low left side of Atlanta goaltender Damian Rhodes to give the Sharks the lead.

The Sharks had taken a 2-0 lead after one period on goals by Teemu Selanne and Scott Thornton, but the Thrashers responded with a pair of quick goals 36 seconds apart in the second.

Rookie Dany Heatley scored his fourth goal of the season 9:35 into the period. He charged down the right side and wristed a shot from the right faceoff circle into the upper left side of the net.

Less than a minute later, Patrik Stefan tied the game with his first goal of the season. Stefan, who been out for four weeks after suffering a broken jaw against Boston on Oct. 6, poked his own rebound through Nabokov's legs.

Atlanta did not threaten in the third period, managing only three shots.

San Jose's Owen Nolan made it 4-2 with 2:18 left in the second period before Niklas Sundstrom scored an empty-net goal with 14 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Sharks have won three in a row for the first time since Feb. 10-16.

United Press International is a leading provider of news, photos and information to millions of readers around the globe via UPI.com and its licensing services.

With a history of reliable reporting dating back to 1907, today’s UPI is a credible source for the most important stories of the day, continually updated - a one-stop site for U.S. and world news, as well as entertainment, trends, science, health and stunning photography. UPI also provides insightful reports on key topics of geopolitical importance, including energy and security.

A Spanish version of the site reaches millions of readers in Latin America and beyond.

UPI was founded in 1907 by E.W. Scripps as the United Press (UP). It became known as UPI when after a merger with the International News Service in 1958, which was founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. Today, UPI is owned by News World Communications.